The anonymous soldier is charged with two counts of murder and four of attempted murder over the infamous killings<\/b>
\nA former British soldier is set to be prosecuted in connection with the deaths of two civil rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, 47 years ago, part of an incident known as Bloody Sunday, prosecutors said Thursday.
But the identity of the former soldier, identified only as Soldier F, has yet to be revealed.
The veteran will face prosecution for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O\u2019Donnell.
Sixteen other soldiers under investigation will not face prosecution in the shootings, which took place at the height of the unrest in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. Prosecutors say there is not enough evidence to try them.
The charges against Soldier F follow a decade-long investigation that concluded soldiers killed 13 unarmed demonstrators protesting Britain\u2019s detention of suspected Irish nationalists. Some 28 people were shot in total.
But the results of a long-running inquiry that concluded in 2010 could not be used in any prosecution and Thursday\u2019s charges resulted from a separate police investigation into the incident.
He joined the 1st battalion of Britain\u2019s famous Parachute Regiment in 1966, the Telegraph reports, and was a lance corporal at the time of the killings on Jan. 30,1972. The inquiry into the killings, conducted by Britain\u2019s Lord Saville, granted anonymity to all military witnesses involved, but the report makes references to Soldier F being called \u201cDave\u201d by other soldiers. He is now said to be in his 70s.
Its final report covered some 5,000 pages, costing $352 million. It had been set up after an earlier inquiry into the killings was deemed a whitewash.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland first launched a murder probe in 2012, after Lord Saville\u2019s Bloody Sunday Inquiry found that all of those who died were innocent civilians who had not posed a threat on the day, the Irish Times reports. Files were then sent to public prosectors in Northern Ireland in December 2016. In the end, names of 20 suspects were sent to prosecutors, including 18 ex-soldiers and two Official IRA men, but only Soldier F has been charged.
That leaves 19 suspects not charged and 11 killings unaccounted for. The victims\u2019 families have called for justice, while supporters of the soldiers say it is unfair for them to face charges decades after the events.
In 2003 testimony to the Saville Inquiry, Soldier F admitted to firing 13 rounds on that 1972 day in Derry, as civil rights marchers made their way toward the city centre from the Bogside area.
The killings and attempted murders Soldier F will be tried for happened in the Glenfada Park North and Abbey Park north areas of Derry.
Although a Soldier H was also found by Saville to be responsible for these deaths, prosecutors deemed there was not the same level of evidence against Soldier H, and thus \u201cno reasonable prospect of conviction.\u201d
At a rubble barricade on nearby Rossville Street, six other protestors met their deaths. They were Michael Kelly, Hugh Gilmour, William Nash, John Young, Michael McDaid and Kevin McElhinney, all aged between 17 and 20.
The Irish Times reports that Soldier F was connected to these deaths, as were other soldiers, but again prosecutors decided there was no prospect a conviction could be secured.
Prosecutors found there was \u201cno admissible and credible witness evidence that Soldier F fired at the rubble barricade,\u201d but Michael Kelly\u2019s body did offer up a bullet linked to a rifle Soldier F had used.
Soldier F was also linked to two other deaths \u2014 Bernard McGuigan and Patrick Doherty \u2014 and the wounding of other protestors, the Times reports. At the time of his report, Lord Saville said he had no doubt Soldier F shot the dead men, but evidence from Saville\u2019s report was inadmissible. A co-accused soldier who might have pinpointed Soldier F is now dead.
Now, prosecutors have determined that there is enough evidence to try soldier F for two murders and four attempted murders.
A legal expert told the BBC that he expects Soldier F will soon be named, once the case goes to a preliminary hearing in Northern Ireland.
Expert Joshusa Rozenberg said Soldier F may argue abuse of process and unfair treatment as a defence, because no other soldiers have been prosecuted.
His legal costs, as well as welfare support, will be paid by the British government, it has been confirmed.
\u201cWe are indebted to those soldiers who served with courage and distinction to bring peace to Northern Ireland,\u201d UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told the BBC. \u201cThe welfare of our former service personnel is of the utmost importance.\u201d
William McKinney\u2019s brother Michael said it was \u201cdisappointing\u201d for those families whose cases would not be prosecuted, the BBC reports.
\u201cWe are mindful of those families who received that news today, and believe me, there are many. For us here today it is important to point out that justice for one family is justice for all of us,\u201d he said.
\u201cI wish to clearly state that where a decision has been reached not to prosecute, that this is in no way diminishes any finding by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that those killed or injured were not posing a threat to any of the soldiers,\u201d Stephen Herron, the director of public prosecutions for Northern Ireland, said as he announced the charges. \u201cWe recognize the deep disappointment felt by many of those we met with today.\u201d<\/p>\n